BROWN AXED
Roos recall Daw as Tasmanian ace dropped
NORTH Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw dealt with a bitter sweet double yesterday, welcoming Majak Daw’s first AFL game in 706 days and revealing the emotion behind dropping out-of-form spearhead Ben Brown.
The surprise axing of Brown follows his wife Hester’s heartbreaking announcement on Thursday that they had lost one of the twins they were expecting in February.
Shaw also dropped Jared Polec for North’s bottom-ofthe-ladder clash against Adelaide at Metricon Stadium on Saturday. Brown’s axing comes after kicking just two goals in his past four games. And Shaw said a decision needed to be made for the team and for the star full forward.
“From my perspective and my conversations with Benny is that it’s been a tough period for him off the field and we all feel for him in that scenario but it has also been pretty tough for him on the field,” he said.
“He has been working pretty hard but not getting results and we need results, so we think it’s the right time for him to step out of the side and make way for Maj.
“It’s one of those situations, Ben is a great player, we all know that, but if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and get the same result there has to be a point in time where we do make those decisions that are best for him and our team.”
Aiden Bonar comes in for Polec, who Shaw said had not produced the body of work expected of a big money recruit. Polec got four votes in the coaches award against Carlton last game.
All the attention in Saturday’s clash will now be on Daw in his first AFL game since falling 25m from the Bolte Bridge in December 2018.
He suffered a broken pelvis and hip and it was feared he may never walk again.
He did play four VFL games last year, before a hamstring injury ended his year, and a cold meant he missed Round 1 in 2020 before tearing his pectoral muscle in May.
Shaw said it was a “heartwarming story” not just for the AFL but for all Australian sport.
“It’s hard not to get a smile on your face when you see the big fella get the reception he did, the boys love him, our club loves him and he’s just a bundle of energy for us,” he said.
“I know the boys have taken a bit out of it, I’m really pleased with how they have gone about it and how Maj has gone about it.
“I think you will see a good performance from Maj and the boys on the weekend.
“I’ve actually had a chat with a few people... just seeing what he has been through and how difficult a period that was and when he was on the road of getting back to the ultimate of AFL something has gotten in the way. To his credit and I don’t know if Maj gets enough credit for this but he is resilient bugger and he puts that all out there for everyone to see.
“He has showed great courage in talking about his mental health battles and we are really proud of him.”